


Mistletoe

by Erwins_eyebrows



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-19 12:30:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17001699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erwins_eyebrows/pseuds/Erwins_eyebrows
Summary: “I don’t want to third wheel it, and I don’t want to try to find a date last minute.  You’re right, it’s a good idea to start integrating your friends, but maybe I should wait for an activity not so couple oriented.”  Levi knew this was coming.  It was just the natural progression of a committed relationship, but Levi didn’t have to like it.  He hated meeting new people, and Hanji’s friends seemed to be on a whole other level than him, a part of society of which he never belonged.  He didn’t want to go and embarrass Petra with how pedestrian he was in the face of all Hanji’s high society buddies.“Fine.  Then I won’t go either,” Petra announced.“You’re lying.”“Try me.”  Levi knew that look.  She wasn’t lying.  “You’re my best friend.  I don’t want to do this without you.”“Fine.”“Thank you, Levi,” she squealed as she pulled Levi into a hug.  “Besides, some of Hanji’s friends are single, so you won’t be the only one going solo.  You know, Erwin is single.”“I don’t doubt it, with a name like Erwin.”“Mean,” Petra scolded.  Levi snorted.“I guess I can always hang out with Oluo in times of desperation,” Levi muttered.“You won’t regret this.”





	Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> Just some Christmas fun with my favorite boys!

“Please, Levi.”

 

“No.”

 

“But Levi, all of Hanji’s friends will be there.  I want all of my friends there, too. We’re trying to meld our lives together, and you’re a part of that whether you like it or not, you inconsiderate troll,” Petra huffed, chin quivering.  She was faking. Levi could tell. They had been friends for too long for the pouty-face to work anymore.

 

“Petra, no.”

 

“Gah, why am I even friends with you?”  She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.  “Why? Why won’t you go?”

 

“Well, let’s see...first, this is not a party that you and your fiancé are hosting.  This is at Hanji’s stupidly rich friend’s house.”

 

“Because our apartment isn’t big enough,” Petra interrupted.  “Erwin was being nice and offered so we didn’t have to rent a space.”

 

“Second, everyone else involved is part of a couple,” Levi continued.  “I don’t want to third wheel it, and I don’t want to try to find a date last minute.  You’re right, it’s a good idea to start integrating your friends, but maybe I should wait for an activity not so couple oriented.”  Levi knew this was coming. It was just the natural progression of a committed relationship, but Levi didn’t have to like it. He hated meeting new people, and Hanji’s friends seemed to be on a whole other level than him, a part of society of which he never belonged.  He didn’t want to go and embarrass Petra with how pedestrian he was in the face of all Hanji’s high society buddies.

 

“Fine.  Then I won’t go either,” Petra announced.

 

“You’re lying.”

 

“Try me.”  Levi knew  _ that  _ look.  She wasn’t lying.  “You’re my best friend.  I don’t want to do this without you.”

 

“ _ Fine _ .”

 

“Thank you, Levi,” she squealed as she pulled Levi into a hug.  “Besides, some of Hanji’s friends are single, so you won’t be the only one going solo.  You know, Erwin is single.”

 

“I don’t doubt it, with a name like Erwin.”

 

“Mean,” Petra scolded.  Levi snorted.

 

“I guess I can always hang out with Oluo in times of desperation,” Levi muttered.

 

“You won’t regret this.”

 

*****

 

Levi was already regretting it as his Uber dropped him off in front of the sleek contemporary style house with large windows and professional landscaping. The outdoor Christmas decorations were tasteful, wreaths made of fresh pine, tied neatly with large, red velvet bows and lit with flickering battery-operated candles.  They must have cost a small fortune. The stone walkway was lined with poinsettias in alternating colors of red and white. There was two small, decorated trees on either side of the dark ebony door. 

 

Levi already felt out of his element, and secretly wished he was at the wrong address.  He studied the several cars parked in the large driveway, and immediately recognized Hanji’s black sedan.  He, unfortunately, was in the right place. 

  
  


“Woah, dude, this place is the fucking shit!”  Connie, the Uber driver, blurted like the over-excited college kid that he was.  “Have fun man.”

 

“Not likely, but thanks.”  He gave the kid a nice tip before approaching the structure apprehensively.  He stood at the door, staring at it for a long moment in contemplation. He could do this.  This was for Petra. Sweet, darling Petra, who nursed his hangovers after each shitty relationship went south.  Patient Petra, who ignored his bad attitude and sarcasm. Incandescent Petra, finally happy and in love, and desperate to share her happiness with her dearest friend.  So, yeah, he was going to fucking do this shit. He raised his finger to the doorbell, but before he could even press the button, the door flew open to reveal Hanji and all of their maniacal glee.

 

“Levi!  You made it!  Petra was starting to worry that you backed out on her after all.”  The words were said kindly, but there was the undertone of a threat there, and Levi knew he better be on his best behavior to make Petra happy or Hanji would likely rip him apart.  This was the sole reason he endured Hanji. They were so fiercely protective of Petra that Levi would not have been satisfied with any one else insinuating themselves in Petra’s life.

 

“My work meeting ran over and my Uber driver got stuck in the traffic cone hell off highway twelve during rush hour.  But I’m here, so no need to get her titties in a twist.”

 

“Whose titties are in a twist?”  Petra asked as she gave Levi a sweet little kiss.

 

“What the hell?  Now I have your lipstick all over my face.”  Petra held out a napkin. 

 

“Mistletoe,” She answered simply and pointed up.  Before he could respond, Hanji planted another kiss on him.

 

“Get off, shitty glasses!”  

 

“That’s enough you two.  At least let him in the door,” Isabel called out as she walked by with two drinks in hand.  Levi guessed one was for Farlan, who was standing near a marble fireplace with a smile on his face as he spoke with a short blonde woman and her much taller, shaggier blonde companion.  Fuck, were all of Hanji’s friends blonde? Is he in some sort of Stepford hell?

 

“Sorry,” Hanji said unapologetically.  Levi rolled his eyes in response. “Let me take your coat.  Drinks are in the kitchen, right over there.”

 

Levi didn’t need the kitchen to be pointed out.  The place was open floor plan, and he could fit his entire townhouse in the downstairs area.  There wasn’t as many people as he anticipated, or maybe the size of the space made it look as if there wasn’t many people there.  Regardless, the one thing that stood out among everything else was the amount of people snogging underneath various sprays of mistletoe hung at various places throughout the house.  It was practically a minefield, and It made Levi’s skin crawl. It was one thing to have Hanji and Peta lay one on him, but to make out with a virtual stranger was out of the question.  

 

Not to mention, Petra was a liar.  

 

Almost everyone Levi laid eyes on was part of a couple, even that idiot Oluo managed to find a date.  Levi looked at his watch and wondered how long it would be before he could sneak out without seeming rude.  But then again, he did spot someone tall, blonde ( big surprise there) and gorgeous standing in the kitchen...and very much alone.  He could go get a drink and maybe take in some delightful eye candy ( for he seriously doubted the cordiality of Hanji’s friends as a whole, so he was not expecting conversation).

 

“You look like you need a drink,” the tall blonde man chuckled as Levi approached the kitchen island where all of the food and beverages were laid out.

 

“You have no idea.”  Levi grabbed a hard cider from the bucket of ice in front of him.  He really didn’t like that type of drink, but it was close and he didn’t want to get drunk in the middle of unfamiliar territory.

 

“You must be one of Petra’s friends.  And judging by her enthusiastic reception, I’m going to wager and guess that you’re the infamous Levi.”  The blonde gave him a boyish grin, and damn if the man wasn’t gorgeous as hell. Such pretty blue eyes…

 

“Yeah, I’m Levi.  Don’t believe everything she says,” Levi said taking a sip of his drink.

 

“But they’re all nice things, I promise.”

 

“Again, don’t believe everything she says.  I’m not as nice as she makes me out to be.” The blonde just chuckled in response.  He smelled good, too.

 

“Regardless, I’m glad you were able to make it.”

 

“Yeah.  I almost didn’t come.  I usually don’t go for this high class shit.  But if it makes Petra happy, I’ll put up with Hanji’s fancy-ass buddies for a night.”

 

“Fancy-ass?  Really?” The blonde looked amused.

 

“Yeah, look at all this shit.  This Erwin guy, for example. He just had to be the one to step in and offer a place for Petra’s little shindig here.  Flash bastard probably just wants to show off in front of Petra’s friends.”

 

“I see,” the blonde laughed.  “It can’t be just because he was trying to help out someone who has become dear to him?”

 

“Nah, people aren’t like that anymore.  What’s this guy do for a living anyway? He some sort of mob boss or something?”  Levi took another longer pull from the bottle.

 

“Solutions architect,” Blondie answered.

 

“What?”

 

“You asked what he did for a living.  He is a solutions architect.”

 

“What the hell is that?”

 

“Who knows,” the blonde said with a smile.

 

“And who the fuck decorated this place?”  Levi asked, pointing at various clusters of mistletoe.

 

“Ah, that would be Hanji’s doing.  I’ve been trying to avoid it all evening.”  The blonde studied him for a moment. “I take it that you’re not a fan of mistletoe either.”

 

“No,” Levi spat.  “That shit is for lovey-dovey types and teenagers.  If I want to suck face with a stranger, I’ll fucking ask, not depend on some stupid plant to wingman for me.”

 

“Did you know that mistletoe is mostly a parasitic plant?”  Levi blinked in confusion for moment. 

 

“Are you really going to give a history lesson about mistletoe?”

 

“Well, it would be more of a botany lesson, but yes, I guess I am attempting to make conversation.”  He. Is. So. Damn. Pretty. It really just wasn’t fair.

 

“Okay, Blondie, I’ll bite,” Levi said after a moment’s consideration.

 

“Well, since you want a history lesson: it is believed that the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe started in Greece as a marriage rite because they believed that the plant bestowed fertility.  The Scandinavians thought it to be a symbol of peace, so many treaties were signed under mistletoe, and many marital spats ended with a kiss under the mistletoe. By the Middle Ages, the story then evolved to any maiden who remained unkissed under the mistletoe was destined to never marry-“

 

“Okay, I get it.  You know a lot of useless shit about mistletoe.” Levi actually grinned a little as he cut the blonde off.

 

“My father was a history teacher.”

 

“That explains a lot.”  Levi looked around. “Is there anywhere we can go that isn’t dripping with the stuff?”

 

“I believe so.  Just give me a moment,” the blonde said as he walked down a hallway and returned carrying a couple of blankets.  “This way,” he indicated by placing a hand at the small of Levi’s back and leading him out on the covered patio at the back of the home.  “Tell me if you get too cold and we’ll go back inside,” Blondie said, handing Levi one of the blankets

 

“I’m good for right now.”  Levi watched as his companion wrapped himself in the remaining blanket and sat down on the heavily padded outdoor sofa that enclosed a stone fire pit.  The golden light of the fire highlighted the sharp plains and angles of the blonde’s face, softening his features. He looked at Levi and smiled. Levi’s heart stuttered in his chest.

 

“Please, have a seat.”  The blonde gestured to seating surrounding the fire pit.  Levi followed the blonde’s example and wrapped the blanket around him, considering his seating options.  He took a deep breath and plopped down next to the other man, their thighs touching. He received a blush in response, and he could feel himself relax for the first time since he arrived.

 

“You don’t like crowds, I take it?”  Blondie asked.

 

“No, not really.  This Erwin guy has good taste though.  Look at that view. It’s beautiful out here.”  

 

“Yes, it is nice, but it seems a little too big for a single man, if you ask me.”  The blonde was looking out into the wooded area behind the house with the small spring that flowed into a slight waterfall.  

 

“Still, the view alone is worth buying the place.”

 

“I think that’s what he said when he bought it.  Still, it’s my understanding that it gets quite lonely to come home to an empty house of this size.”

 

“Alone is alone.  It doesn’t matter how big the house is.  If you’re lonely, it’s going to be shitty either way,” Levi reasoned.

 

“True, but maybe it’s just more noticeable when there is more space to fill.”

 

“Maybe.  I wouldn’t know.  My mom and I lived in a shitty apartment until she got cancer.  We, then, moved in with my uncle in his even shittier trailer. She didn’t get her own place until she was cancer-free for more than a year.  By that time, I was in college and sharing an apartment with Petra. Mom has a nice little bungalow now, but it’s small. I have a townhouse on east-end, but it looks tiny compared to this place.”  Levi looked over at the other man to find him smiling. “And I’m really over-sharing here.”

 

“No, you’re fine.  I don’t mind.” He hesitantly raised a hand and brushed Levi’s dark hair back.  “I was just trying to determine the exact color of your eyes. At first, they seem grey, but I think that maybe there are some striations of light violet-blue.   Very pretty.”

 

“Really?”  Levi hopes his joking tone his just how flustered he felt.  No one had ever mentioned his eyes before,especially in such detail.  He felt a mix between embarrassment and flattered, and he didn’t know whether wanted to blush or preen like a peacock at the unexpected compliment.

 

“Sorry, I’m afraid I’ve never been good at this,” the blonde said, lowering his hand.

 

“At what?”

 

“Flirting.  I seemed to have made you uncomfortable-“

 

“No!  No, I mean, I’m not uncomfortable.  Flattered, and maybe mostly surprised, but not uncomfortable.”  Levi felt his cheeks warm with heat of blush. “And if that’s flirting, then you need some serious help.”

 

“Well, I did just say I’m terrible at it.”  

 

“It’s more like romancing.  It’s not casual enough to be flirting.  Flirting would you telling me I have pretty eyes, but you took it further than that.”  Levi made sure to keep his tone light, because, in some deep recess of his mind, he wanted to be romanced by the man in front of him.

 

“I’m not quite sure if it’s a good or bad thing, and I find myself unsure of how I should proceed.”  The blonde gave a nervous chuckle.

 

“Your eyes are so blue.  I just-“

 

“Levi, please don’t feel obligated-“

 

They were interrupted by knock on the glass door behind them.  Hey both turned to look to find Petra standing there with a smug grin her face as she pointed up.  Levi lifted his eyes…

 

“Well, shit,” he said with a chuckle. 

 

“What is it?”  The blonde followed his gaze.  “Well, damn. I thought I had them all mapped out.”  There above them hung a small sprig of mistletoe. 

 

“So fucking cliche,” Levi groaned.

 

“You don’t have to Levi.  It’s just a fun little holiday game.”

 

“Don’t you care about me turning into an old maid or some shit?” He teased the blonde.  “Or my fertility. This is for the children. Think about the children.”

 

“I’d rather not think of children if I’m kissing you,” the blonde muttered.  And as if that just didn’t punch the air out of Levi’s lungs and make his pulse race.

 

“Well, am I going to be an old maid after all?  I thought you cared.”

 

“Oh, I very much care,” the blonde said as he leaned in and gave Levi a chaste little peck on the lips.

 

“Is that all you got?  Really?”

 

“Ungrateful.  I just single-handedly secured your future and fertility, and that’s the thanks I get,” the blonde said with an eye roll.

 

“I thought you were going to romance me, Blondie?”

 

“I wasn’t sure if you wanted to be romanced, Levi.”

 

“Try me.”

 

“Well, then,” was the only warning Levi received before being pulled against that tall, warm body and kissed like he had only dreamed of being kissed, soft lips, warm breath, gentle swipe of tongue.

 

“Damn,” He panted as they broke apart, lips red and swollen.

 

“Erwin!”  Hanji howled as they threw open the door.  “I just knew you two would hit it off!” 

 

“Not now, Hanji,” the blonde said without harshness, but clearly torn between irritation and adoration for his friend.

 

“Erwin?  You’re Erwin?”  Levi asked incredulously.

 

“Wow, you didn’t even tell him your name?”

 

“Go away, Hanji,” Levi and Erwin said in unison.

 

“Okay, I’ll leave you two to it then.”  Hanji disappeared back into the house.

 

“Levi-“

 

“I think I am going to die of embarrassment now,” Levi said as he buried underneath his blanket.

 

“Don’t be like that,” Erwin teased as he pulled at Levi’s blanket.

 

“I just trashed talked your ass all evening and you never said anything.”

 

“Well, I didn’t want to spoil any of your preconceived notions of me.”  Erwin pulled Levi to him. “Besides, I appreciate your candor.”

 

“Fuck off,” Levi said and pushed him playfully.  “You’re an asshole.”

 

“Yeah, but you have been telling me that all night.”

 

“Yuck it up, Blondie.”  Levi became serious. “Erwin, I really hope-”

 

“Don’t even finish that thought,” Erwin interrupted.   “It’s okay. You probably wouldn’t have given me the time of day if you knew who I was.  Knowing my name, hopefully, doesn’t change the fact that I am going to make out with you some more.  Then I’m going to get your number. Then, I’ll take you out for dinner, someplace quiet and without Hanji.”

 

“Sounds like you have everything planned out.  But what if don’t want to go out for dinner?” Levi watched as Erwin’s blue eye flashed with disappointment, but his countenance remained unaltered.

 

“Then feel free to say no,” Erwin said calmly

 

“I mean, surely you can use that fancy-ass kitchen in there.  I’ll bet my left nut that you have some high tech security system, so what better way to keep Hanji out?”

 

“Are you saying that you would rather have dinner here, then?”  There was a tinge Of hope to Erwin’s voice.

 

“Yeah.  Then you can give me the grand tour of the place so I don’t get lost.”  Levi grinned slyly when Erwin chuckled.

 

“And you’re going to trust me to be a gentleman, or that I’m not a serial killer?”

 

“Hardly the serial type.  As for being a gentleman, we can see how dinner goes.  If you’re lucky, maybe I won’t want you to be a gentleman.”  Erwin blushed at that.

 

“No pressure, then,” the blonde laughed.

 

“Now, I believe you said something about making out some more?”

 

“Oh, yes, we can finish discussing dinner later.  I would much rather be kissing you right now.”

 

“Yeah, I figured.”  

 

Levi’s lips were still tingling that night when he climbed up the stairs to one of Erwin’s guest rooms.  Erwin walked him to the door and gently kissed his forehead as he bid him goodnight. Levi wanted to follow him down the hall and climb into bed with Erwin.  But there was this part of him that liked Erwin’s way of doing things, a slow romance. So, he would wait and follow Erwin’s lead. 

 

Maybe mistletoe wasn’t so bad after all.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!


End file.
